Syria Media Roundup (February 3)

[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating on Syria and reflects a wide variety of opinions. It does not reflect the views of the Syria Page Editors or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week`s roundup to syria@jadaliyya.com by Monday night of every week.]

Voices from the Caliphate – Deir al-ZourFarah Nasif tells stories of how Syrians in ISIS-controlled Deir al-Zour respond to ISIS rule in different ways varying from adapting, staying home, pretending piety or even travelling to regime-controlled areas.

It is crucial to recognise Syria’s new realityHassan Hassan argues, "even if Bashar Al Assad is willing to cooperate with foreign countries to end the Syrian conflict, the international community can`t hope that extremism will be uprooted without addressing the political and social roots of the crisis."

Kobani hospitals overflow as battle continuesMassoud Hamed writes about how makeshift hospitals are being set up in basements and schools across Kobani to treat fighters and civilians while armed groups have targeted the city’s main hospitals.

Activism in Difficult Times: Civil Society Groups in Syria 2011 - 2014In this study, Rana Khalaf, Oula Ramadan, Friederike Stolleis, present and analyze the results of a quantitative and qualitative mapping of 94 civil society groups and Local Councils representing the vast majority of local activist groupings in non-government-controlled areas of Syria whose focus is mainly on issues other than humanitarian aid.

مقابر كفرنبل أندية تعارف وحكايات من رحلواMustapha al-Jalal writes about the ways in which Kafr Nabel’s cemeteries became a meeting place to remember and talk about those who have died in the Syrian conflict.

... وجبهة النصرة أيضاً «باقية وتتمدد»Tareq Aziza writes about how Jabhat al-Nusra is expanding within its areas of operation in Lebanon and becoming larger, and how jihadists continue to swell the ranks of Jolani’s group because it is the official Al-Qaeda branch.

كيف تساعد إسرائيل مقاتلي المعارضة السوريّة؟Khaled Atallah discusses recent claims by Syrian opposition activists in southern Syria about how Israel has played a vital role in Jabhat al-Nusra’s recent gains in Quneitra and Daraa.